Recent Photos -- Baby-Doll

I've moved ...

Come on over and share a cup of hot cocoa with me in the new place: Suse Ink. It's a place to find out about rubber stamping, scrapbooking and other artsy and crafty things. Mostly, using rubber stamps from The Angel Company(tm), and occasionally a few others that I already have in my collection.

Do you ever read the scrapping magazines and see those articles about those lovely organized stamp rooms? Have you ever been amazed when the article says that this highly organized and very creative person owns a number of stamps that includes 4 or 5 zeros in the number?

I know I was absolutely shocked the first time I saw such a number. I really didn't believe it was possible to own that many rubber stamps.

Then I started wandering around the Internet looking at the offerings from the companies that are out there; there are literally thousands of possiblities. I suppose it is possible, then, to own so many.

Well, I've never counted up my stamps, but I'm sure it isn't that many. I buy in sets because it is so much less expensive than buying the individual stamps from the stamp stores. My competitor in the rubber stamp direct sales business sells sets that cost about half of what it would cost to go to the store and buy similar stamps individually. And then at The Angel Company(tm), Angels (who are independent distributors) sell stamp sets that run about 2/3 the cost of those offered by our biggest competitor. How can we do that?

A huge part of the cost of rubber stamps is the oak handles they are mounted on. At The Angel Company(tm) the philosophy is to offer high quality rubber in an "unmounted" form. Cling cushion is provided instead of the permanent adhesive cushion for wood mounting. This cling cushion "sticks" to acrylic, then can be peeled off with no damage to the stamp of the acrylic for storage.

Acrylic blocks are available in a huge variety of sizes to hold your stamps while working with them. Most stamps can then be stored in CD cases for easy, compact storage.

Samples and techniques and so much more will be filling up the posts over at the new place. Mug mats are provided, mugs and cocoa mix are there too. Hope to see you soon over at www.suseink.com.

Win an IPod and a ton of books from Camy Tang - Author of SUSHI FOR ONE

Camy Tang's first book, Sushi for One, just came out. To celebrate (and to generate interest in the book) she is hostessing an awesome contest. The grand prize, first place winner, will receive an 8 GB iPod! Plus a lot of books (I didn't count them all ...)

For more information, and to enter, go here:
http://www.camytang.com/contest.html

You will need two things
- you'll need my email address to put in the contest entry form -- SuseADoodle at gmail.com. Please be sure to use that, okay?
- a Yahoo ID so you can join her Yahoo Group, Camy's Loft. And you will WANT to join her Yahoo group because every week she gives away books!

An author who whole-heartedly believes writers are readers too!

The contest runs till October 31, 2007.




The book sounds like a wonderful read. It is on my list of "GET THIS SOON!" Books and I've scheduled an afternoon to read it cover-to-cover. Want to know a little more about it? Check out:
http://christianfictionblogalliance.blogspot.com/2007/09/sushi-for-one-by-camy-tang.html
or
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0310273986
or
http://www.christianbook.com/Christian/Books/product?item_no=273981&netp_id=479128&event=ESRCN&item_code=WW

FAIR TRADE CHOCOLATE EVENT

Who doesn't like chocolate? There are very few people who don't. (They were probably given chocolate as a kid but were told it was calves' liver or something like that.)

Did you know that about half of the world's chocolate is produced with slave labor? For more information, visithttp://www.stopthetraffik.org/.

If you like to cook and would like to win a goodie bag of Traffik-Free Chocolate, stop over here: http://rkhooks.net/2007/09/03/stop-the-traffik-chocolate-event/

If you participate, stop back here.

In the comments section leave your name and the url to your blog post that you use to enter r k hooks' event, using Traffik-Free Chocolate.

I'll be posting this info about the event at each of my blogs.

Feel free to leave your comment and link at each one. (One comment entry per blog please, though.) From all of the comments posted, there will be a random drawing and I'll send out a chocolate-related thank you to three winners.

DREAM & Share your Gifts with us all ...

Okay, looks like another "vein" ...

Here is another link to go visit. This time it is a "birthday look" -- looking to see where she has been, where she is now and how she got here:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2006/08/27_years_ago_to.html

Okay, you read that, right? Sure you did? Now, go here:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2007/08/happy-birthday-.html

And now:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/

The last link there is the main page of her blog. Here you can find some awesome project files using PaperTrey's stamps to go with punches. The project files are way cool, IMHO ...

For instance, go here:

http://nicholeheady.typepad.com/capture_the_moment/2007/08/2.html

And scroll down through the post until you get to the little tins that hold a dozen Hershey's Nugget candies. These would make awesome Christmas gifts, wouldn't they?
I'll be working on some designs this weekend, using stamps from TheAngelCompany(tm), for the labels. Check back here with me next week for the results, okay?

DREAM ... Follow Your Talents ... You never know where it will lead

Go over to the Loop de Loops blog by Kay (use this link below):

http://loopdeloops.blogspot.com/2007/09/dreams-can-come-true.html

Yes, go NOW! STOP reading here and go there. Listen to Jimmy then pause Kay's playlist and click on the video.

Go on. Git! Scat! I'll be here when you get back.


















Okay, you've been there. You watched the video. Did you survive her dare?

I didn't. And I already knew that he got three resounding "yes" votes.

I heard about this, and an excerpt of him singing, on the classic music radio station I tune to in the car. Came in on a debate in-progress about whether it is "proper" that an amateur should sing opera and do so well in such a "vulgar" popular venue.

The opera snobs were upset by this. Music lovers, in general, though, find this to be thrilling.

I'm really sad that Pavarotti died; I used to love to hear him sing this song. It was almost "his" song. But this guy, to be honest, I like singing it even more than I liked hearing Pavarotti sing it. :-)

Never underestimate your dreams, your talents, your gifts. They are yours. Treasure them but nurture and use and follow them.

Low Thyroid Daze -- Update, sorta ...

Back a few posts ago (http://whigmaleerie-workshop.blogspot.com/2007/07/low-thyroid-daze.html) I mentioned the foggy brain, scatter-brain side of being low thyroid. Since then, I have decided to try to remember to take part in a few weekly writing, photography and art "prompts." One of the writing prompts was to write about a famous character's secret vice.

Hmm ... for some reason, vampires or soulless people have been invading my writing lately. So, I thought about Dracula and what vices could he possibly have besides what we already know?

Not sure why I did it, I decided to check out Wikipedia.org for info on vices. (Even though Wikipedia has been around now for a while, I visited it the first time just two weeks ago. It's sort of fun to use ... but that is another post completely ...)

And on their list of vices is ABSENTMINDEDNESS! And Scatterbrained!

Eesh! I'm in big trouble.

Have a great day. Oh, if you're so inclined, you can read my Dracula's vice story here: http://whigmaleerieworkshop.blogspot.com/2007/08/this-weeks-challenge-fiction-friday.html
Just be warned -- if you do care about what happens in the Harry Potter books and don't yet know the end -- I sort of give it away at the end of the this story. You've been warned that I "spoiled" it. Trust me, it wasn't intentional. The character just insisted on getting into the story and before I knew what was happening had almost taken over ... :-)

Finally, some new cards to post ...

**sigh** for some stupid reason (made sense at the time, though) I piled a few items on top of my printer/scanner. Then, it became easy to add one or two supposedly important papers to the pile so I wouldn't lose them. Before long, I couldn't find the printer/scanner.

It wasn't quite that bad, but figuring out what to do with the stuff on it so I could scan a new card was more than my creativity could handle at the time. So ... it has been a while since I posted any cards.



This is my favorite of the cards I am posting today. I made it last night for a swap among members of our T.A.C. Team. The theme was "My favorite new set." Well ...

I have to admit that this card doesn't meet the "rules" of the swap -- so it is a "bonus" card. The favorite set is "Alpha Grunge" (the Letter G is from that set). But it was actually introduced in one of the supplements which are previews of new stamps for the next catalogue and idea book.

The butterfly and saying are "GWP" stamps -- free stamps available with any $30 purchase. I think I remember reading we aren't supposed to use the GWPs on swap cards ... oh well ...

I've been making cards with a friend most of the summer. We meet once or twice a week and make cards. I get tired of hauling everything in and out of my house and hers -- so I have left almost all of my ink and cardstock and stamp sets at her house. I had to use whatever I had on hand to make these cards.

The paper for the G and the "background" are really cardstock that I used Palette Ink Spots with a direct-to-paper technique to create.

These are three of six similar cards that are the actual swap card. The stamps used to make the background and of the card and the attached ATC are stamped with an older set called "Blossom Builders." The inks might be Palette Inks, or from my Whispers caddy of inks. So, once again, the cards don't really meet all the rules of the swap.

Again, the letters are from "Alpha Grunge." Love this set of letters as they are a good size -- about an inch and a quarter tall. Great to use on an envelope -- Stamp out the initials of the person you are mailing to and then hand write the rest of the name ... If there is room, maybe even the first letter of the city where they live.

Okay, these are "CIP" -- cards in progress.

I had a packet of cardstock with three or four hues of mustardy-yellow and some Basic Grey papers that I wanted to try to use up. Sat down one night and cut into cards and layers. Tried to use every scrap. Plopped the pieces into a nice storage box and draw out of it whenever I want to make a card. Half the work is done -- the card/front is waiting for me to add the layers and the stamped image.

One day I didn't bother getting out the ink or stamps sets. Just layered up what I could.






























These cats are cute. They're from an internet rubber stamp business that is closing up (sorry, I don't remember the name of it -- but things are on clearance there. If I find it again, I'll come back and edit the post to include the link.) Not quite sure about the little kitty that I used on the background of the card ... Is he holding a mug? Are they two paws? Are they supposed to be little "angel wings" on his back? Cute anyhow ...

The saying is from my "enemy" competition (LOL!!) Stampin' Up!. Love that whole set. One other great saying in the set is a WC Fields quote: Start each day with a smile and get it over with. :-)








This card is made with a 12x12 embossed cardstock I got on clearance at one of the local Anchor Paper Express stores that was moving and selling off their inventory so they didn't have to box it all and move it. The green circle was punched out with a clever lever punch (not sure what size it was now) -- I l liked the fact the dots on the cardstock and the punch were the same.













This is another of the "bonus" cards for the swap, though the set used (besides the GWP saying stamp) is new one called "For All Seasons." Yellow background is a direct-to-paper with 'thatched straw' VersaMagic chalk ink. I accidentally stamped the saying upside down -- so tore the paper to put it back together the right way up. Used the Crop-O-Dile to make the holes and to set the eyelets.

I used to HATE eyelets -- all that banging. The Crop-O-Dile is way cool! The pumpkins are colored in with Glaze Gelly pens -- first in yellow with the orange on top. I like how this card came out. Almost as much as I like the card with the same saying at the beginning of the post with the Giant G ...

My Weird Brain ...

Your Brain is Purple

Of all the brain types, yours is the most idealistic. You tend to think wild, amazing thoughts. Your dreams and fantasies are intense. Your thoughts are creative, inventive, and without boundaries. You tend to spend a lot of time thinking of fictional people and places - or a very different life for yourself.

What Color Is Your Brain?

Wonderful Gift Card Tutorial found HERE:

From time to time, I spend an afternoon wandering through Blogdom and click on blog names that sound interesting in someone's "Here Are Blogs I Visit" list. I'm never quite sure how I ended up where I am, but thankfully I can bookmark where I am and with some mental agility (often lacking though with my low thyroid foggy brain) can even navigate back there and back here once in a while. This link is to an awesome free project tutorial:

http://stampinmama.typepad.com/stampin_mama_a_mama_that_/2007/07/my-surprisea-gi.html

I think you will enjoy the project quite a bit. The instructions are detailed and make it easy to accomplish the same results with your attempt to duplicate the project. However, I would change the colors -- as I don't like to use "clashing" colors -- that is, those colors that are opposites on the color wheel. I'm more into the harmony of using colors that are closer together on the color wheel. Personal preference. When CASEing, you don't have to use the same exact colors, you know. :-)


Edit; 09-03-07:
THANKS, Marilynn! I've updated the link. It better work now! LOL.